The Northrend Campaign
by Dunedan
Summary: With the recent demise of Illidan, only Arthas the Lich King stands poised to conquer the world.  Brought together by the warnings of a mighty paladin, can the leaders of the world put aside their differences once again and stand united against the evil?
1. Chapter 1

**Well this is my newest story, in which the long awaited attack on Northrend begins. I've used my character name on the World of Warcraft as the main character, and several friends' names. In my tale Nihilum is a new faction, separate from the alliance and the horde yet comprised of races from both, in homage to the uber group in the game that seems to kill every boss first lol. Friends and enemies must unite to combat Arthas the Lich King, Read, review, and enjoy. :) **

The council was gathering, at the base of the now partly regrown world tree at Mount Hyjal, prepared to discuss the upcoming proposal.

The table which had been constructed at the roots of the tree was immense, large enough to fit all the worlds' leaders around it, many had already arrived.

Faolson (me), the paladin who had called the meeting was present, beside him sat Jaina Proudmoore, with Thrall, warchief of the horde on the other side.

King Varian Wrynn, recently rescued from Arcatraz, the king of Stormwind sat at the table as well, with his General Bolvar Fordragon beside him.

Vol'jin, representing the united Trolls of the world held a seat beside Thrall, for the two of them had been long time friends. Sylvannas Windrunner, banshee queen and mistress of the forsaken had hesitantly agreed to leave Undercity for the meeting, hearing that she may get to face Arthas.

King Magni Bronzebeard, the king of the dwarves and High King Mekkatorque, king of the gnomes, were present, representing the interests of Ironforge.

Malfurion Stormrage and his love Priestess Tyrande sat opposite of the mighty paladin, eagerly awaiting what the meeting was about.

The leaders of Nihilum were present, sitting alongside the world's leaders; they had also been reluctant to come.

Two longstanding friends of Faolson had come as well, Law the mighty gnome warrior, who was legendary for opening the ancient wall of Ahn'qiraj. And Felixe, a powerful night elf druid whose skills in battle supposedly rivaled Malfurion's.

"Shall we get started already?" The impatient dwarven king asked. It seems that everyone is here."

"Not everyone my lord," Faolson replied. "There are several voices to be heard that have not yet arrived."

Almost on queue a great shadow appeared at the entrance, attracting everyone's attention.

It was the form of a giant bear-man, its fur was black, and was sporting an eye patch, covering its lost eye.

"Gorn," Faolson shouted across the table, welcoming his old friend. "It's good to see you, please have a seat."

The mighty furbolg chieftain of Timbermaw Hold walked past the other world leaders, finding an empty chair among the rest.

Following behind him was a pair of goblins, no doubt representing the interests of the Steamwheedle Cartel.

Finally a pair of dranei marched through the doors, they seemed old, yet were determined not to show their age, they took their seats silently.

"Thank you for coming Velen, Akama, you are always welcome here."

Akama had assisted along with Maiev in the slaying of Illidan, and thus had earned the trust of the people of Azeroth.

"It seems that the Blood elf and Naga representatives aren't coming," Faolson sighed.

"Can you blame them?" Sylvannas asked angrily. "You invite Nihilum's leaders to this damned meeting, and they were responsible for the deaths of Kael'thas, and Lady Vashj.

"We had no choice!" shouted the Nihilum representatives. "They were planning to conquer all of Outland and everyone in it!"

Before an argument could ensue Faolson raised his hands, calming the rage of the leaders, stating that they would start without the blood elves and Naga.

"That should be everyone," Bolvar announced, now will you please inform us what is so dire that it requires us all here?"

"Indeed," Thrall agreed. "The only reason I am here is due to your legendary accomplishments and the assistance you rendered in defeating Illidan."

"I have called you here," Faolson began. "To plan an invasion of Northrend."

An uproar began before he even finished his sentence, shouts of disapproval and claims of Faolson's insanity were thrown into the air.

"Please!" Faolson shouted, slamming his glowing purple Naaru hammer hard into the wall, causing the leaders to stop speaking. "We all know that while we have been fighting in Outland that Arthas has been building up his forces in Northrend. It won't be long now before he has an army large enough to launch an assault upon the world."

"And how do you know this?" asked Sylvannas, unsure as to whether the claims on the size of Arthas's armies were true.

"From an old friend," Faolson muttered, motioning for someone to come forward.

A man dressed in armor obviously made in Loredoron stepped forward, his face was hard and worn, like a man who had seen terrible things.

"Who is this?" Gorn asked, contemplating whether it would be smart to send what few furbolgs remained uncorrupted into battle against Arthas.

"This man…is the captain who served with Arthas six years ago when he took the Loredoron army to Northrend."

A silence filled the air as the leaders gazed upon the man whom all had believed perished so long ago.

"How did you find him?" Piped the king of Stormwind.

"I was scouting out Northrend a month ago," Faolson began. "And found him wandering the frozen wastes…as he has done so since Arthas abandoned him and his men to die."

"It is true my lords," the man finally said, his voice was like that of a frail old man. "I know not how I have lived so long in that land of death…but I have seen what Arthas is doing, he has not stopped increasing his undead numbers since he defeated Illidan and took the Icecrown Glacier."

The man stood to his full height, revealing the strength that still resided within him.

"His legions are vast, overflowing over the glacier itself, pouring out of the tunnels of the long dead spider empire…and they grow every day."

"So you see my lords," Faolson politely interrupted. "Arthas will eventually come for us…we have eliminated almost every other great threat to this world; Kel'thuzad, C'thun, Ragnaros, Nefarian, Illidan...and now he has little to fear in competition to rule our world. We need to stop him, before his undead legions outnumber us hundreds if not thousands to one."

"Necessity is the third cousin of invention," the gnome king said, his voice surprisingly deep for one of his kind. "Perhaps it can be done."

"It shall need to be a vote," announced Thrall. "Whether to create the new alliance once again to combat Arthas and end his threat once and for all…or to not do so."

"We stand with da orc's vote mon," Vol'jin muttered, standing by Thrall's choice.

The other leaders agreed that it should be voted upon, awaiting Faolson's announcement.

"First…all who oppose the invasion of Northrend, raise your hands."

Not a single hand was raised.

"Perfect," Faolson said, smiling widely. "Now for a strategy."

**I hope you like this story, this chapter was kind of short, but the battle to set up a beachhead in Northrend will begin in the next one. I will use WoW classes in the battle description, but I will also do things you normally can't do in World of Warcraft (like using boats in the attack). If anyone knows any names I could use for the Nihilum leaders I would be very appreciative, I love their work, yet I am not on their server so I don't know any of their names lol. **


	2. War in the North

**The attack upon Northrend begins, but first they must gain a foothold in the accursed land, read, review, and enjoy, I wanna know how I'm doing ). **

The attack had been weeks in the making, a grand fleet had been gathered, using ships from Theramore, Menethil, Auberdine, and even Strangelthorn.

Faolson stood before them all, aboard the Maiden's Virtue, the fleet had set sail from Auberdine, with more than a dozen ships under their command.

Faolson had been given direct command of the Alliance troops; Felixe and Law were his lieutenants, making sure their forces remained organized.

Rexxar was placed as Champion and leader of the horde troops, Rokhan and Cairne had come as well, though no message from Pandaria for aid had been answered. Rexxar gazed out among the horde-occupied ships, gently scratching his giant bear Misha's ear.

Never had such a mingling of troops been seen in the world of Azeroth, they had been organized based upon skills in battle, not race or whom they were allied with.

Faolson stared upon the fifty rogues before him, each of them wearing a deepdive helmet that had been crafted for them; the local engineers had given them the training to use them.

"You know what to do," Faolson muttered to them. Nodding approvingly they each dived over the side of the boat, to complete the task ahead of them.

The wind had grown colder; forcing the troops to enshroud themselves in blankets and heavy garments, save for the furbolgs, who quite enjoyed the breezes under their thick fur.

Rexxar approached Faolson; the two had become fast friends in the weeks leading up to the assault.

"Rexxar," Faolson said, startled by the Mok'nathal's stealthy advance behind him. "Northrend should be in sight range any moment now, are the men ready?"

"As ready as they can be given the circumstances," the half-ogre replied. "Considering we don't even know the vile undead's true numbers or their defenses."

"That doesn't matter for now," Faolson replied, donning his helmet to block out the cold. "For now we need only take a beachhead, from there we can make a base of operations with which to attack the rest of Northrend."

"And if Arthas expects us?"

"Then we shall be prepared," Faolson muttered under his breath. "Nihilum is with us, as well as more troops than have ever been mobilized since the defense of Mount Hyjal. The commanders of Nihilum are off gathering more reinforcements; they will rendezvous with us after we take the shoreline."

"Have you picked where to attack?"

"Yes, the icy coast of Daggercap Bay…the same place Arthas landed when he sent the navy of Lordaeron to their doom."

"The horde forces are ready when the time comes," Rexxar said, pacing back and forth…"the horde shall teach the scourge fear."

"Make sure the rest of our troops are prepared. Remember the plan, with it we just may have a chance."

"And what of the rogues?"

"I have already sent them on their mission; they will know what to do."

Rexxar gazed out across the waters, deep in thought.

"Is something wrong Rexxar?" Faolson asked his long time friend.

"It's just that…even if we do defeat Arthas, the battles wont end there. I have seen the way the other races watch each other, even in this hour of courage and understanding…once Arthas is slain, they shall squabble amongst each other once again."

"I should hope that we have grown beyond that Rexxar…though I see what you mean. But the question is, do we let a great evil remain just so that the mortal races shall remain bitter allies? If they truly do what you say…then perhaps this world is lost."

"Whatever the case," Rexxar finished, preparing to return to his cabin. "Should that future happen…I would be honored if you would join me in the wilds, where such alliances are meaningless."

"Thank you Rexxar," Faolson whispered, so softly he didn't know if the horde commander had heard him.

"TO ARMS!!" Shouted the sentry within the crows nest. "Northrend appears!"

The troops rushed over toward the edges of their boats, indeed, the slopes and glaciers of the forgotten continent now loomed in the distance.

"It seems that they have expected us," Faolson shouted to Felixe. "There are a great many of them."

Along the shoreline hundreds….thousands of undead stood, everything from crypt fiends, ghouls, abominations, it seemed as if the Lich King had summoned all his minions to the defense of his shores.

"Jaina!" Faolson shouted, receiving a telepathic voice in his mind as a response.

"What is it Faolson?" The female archmage inquired.

"Tell all the commanders to prepare for landing, we'll need to land our troops simultaneously to prevent them from being overrun."

"But how will we get to the shore? It's covered with undead."

"Like this," Faolson grunted, firing a flare into the sky.

In answer a series of portholes opened up along the fleet, cannon barrels protruded from each one.

"When did those get there?" Jaina asked, still linked with Faolson.

"We had all the ships retrofitted for war," Faolson responded, severing the mental link to concentrate on the battle at hand.

"Give the order Felixe," Faolson shouted, smirking at his old friends face. "I can tell you want to."

"O…ok," Felixe responded, lifting her druidic staff. "Ready! FIRE!"

The ships rocked as the cannons blew forth from the holds, the thunderous explosions forced all aboard to cover their ears, yet they gazed on, curious to see the undeads reaction to their weapons.

The cannons blew holes in the undead legions, devastating their numbers as they fired. In a matter of moments the undead had pulled back to the safety of the nearby cliffs, leaving the beach wide open.

The ships pulled alongside the shore, cannons still blazing at the undead as they came. The ramps opened wide, revealing the armies of the world, as the cannons covered them the combined forces of the alliance, horde, Nihilum, and the other races of the world poured out onto the beach, ready for war.

Faolson rode out atop his charger, however quickly dismounted to lead the troops, fear coursed through him as he gazed upon the seemingly endless undead, however he continued to lead.

"All armored troops and furbolgs to the front!" he shouted, knowing the furbolgs thick fur made them perfect tanks. "Archer, hunters, and anyone well versed in magic shall cover them from behind, priests and any paladins not on the front lines shall keep them alive!"

Rexxar approached, his bear Misha at his side, ready to fight.

"Rexxar," Faolson muttered. "We need to take this entire stretch of beach, take your battalions and head to the south end of the beach, we'll need to take both in order to claim this shore."

"Don't die human," Rexxar responded, slinging his dual axes over his shoulder he led his men down the coast.

"Faol," Felixe shouted, rushing to her friend's side. "The cannons are nearly out of ammo, when that happens nothing will be stopping the undead."

"Tell them to cease fire."

"What?"

"We need to face them on our terms, not when they know we can't keep them back, tell the captains to cease fire…its time to end this."

"Felixe nodded, transforming into a raven she flew towards the ships to inform the crews.

As the guns grew silent the undead advanced, like a grotesque wave of fear and death they swarmed over the hills and trees, towards the army before them.

"Charge!" Faolson shouted, as his men rushed them in kind.

**Whew, fun to write. ) Next chapter has the epic fight, what are the fifty rogues up to, and how will the worldwide forces defeat the undead's superior numbers? The battle to gain a foothold in Northrend begins, don't miss it.**


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